


Our Souls Laid Bare

by PrincipessaDellaLuna



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Drama, Episode Style, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Identity Crises, Nathalie might get some redemption but Gabriel will get a kick in the seat of his pants, Temporary Amnesia, also serious judgment on all the adults in Adrien's life, but with added drama because i love drama, ish, secret identity dramas also, teens being dramatic about their love lives, what happens when an akumatized villain can magically reveal your 'true' identity????
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22869517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincipessaDellaLuna/pseuds/PrincipessaDellaLuna
Summary: During a colorful spring festival, a talented but socially awkward creator gets akumatized into Demasquer - a villain who erases people's memories and identities, to expose their true nature underneath....needless to say, this poses problems for literally everyone.(hiatus fic, picking up after Miracle Queen)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Nathalie Sancoeur, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth & Nathalie Sancoeur
Comments: 25
Kudos: 40





	1. POVs: Marinette, Adrien, Nathalie

**Author's Note:**

> first MLB fic AHHHHHH /panicky noises/  
> this will be largely canon-compliant. unless I change my mind and decide to insert some very non-canonical fluff. my soul needs the fluff, okay?  
> This picks up after the finale, so Marinette is (sort of???) dating Luka, Adrien is (sort of?) dating Kagami, and everyone else is way less confused about their love lives.  
> PS there will probably be some sort of Agreste drama because idk what needs to give in that household but SOMETHING NEEDS TO HAPPEN ok, like how has that mansion not exploded from the sheer TENSION. 
> 
> anw pls be gentle because as I said this is my first fic and i'm a little scared

Marinette dreamed of the full moon over the park carousel. Soft silver light reflected off the pearly canopy, and through it, she could somehow see stars twinkling peacefully in the night sky. She rode a gentle cream horse, his mane warm and silky under her hands, his neck dappled by little dots like a pink bakery _macaron_. He turned his head to her as they bobbed, slowly, to the rhythm of a sweet, tinkling melody.

"I like this song," said Marinette.

"It's your song," said Luka. He rode a coral blue horse right beside her, his fingers plucking at guitar strings. His guitar looked like a harp. 

Marinette rearranged her sparkly gossamer dress, delighted with the way it swished when she shifted in the saddle. "You write beautiful music," she said, honestly. "But...this doesn't sound like the song you wrote me?" She looked around, a little confused. "Why would that song play in a carousel? And it sounds like a piano--I thought you played guitar? Or...uhm, harp, I guess?"

"What are you talking about?" An amused chuckle came from behind her. "I've been playing the piano since I was six."

Marinette turned to see Adrien, riding a black horse with green eyes. Her heart picked up, her cheeks beginning to burn. She was finally alone, with _Adrien_! On a romantic carousel ride! At night!

Wait...she was definitely going to get in trouble, for being out that late at night. And - was it alright that she was there with Adrien? What about Luka? It didn't feel _entirely_ okay...

But he was...so...pretty... 

She covered her warm cheeks with her hands, as he leaned forward slightly, his horse coming shoulder-to-shoulder with hers.His eyes were green and beautiful and - 

"So, you like my song?"

 _Aaaaah!_ "No? Wait-yes? I mean-song? What song? Do you want to buy a hamster?"

The carousel jolted, abruptly, and the beautiful piano melody turned tinny and jarring. Marinette hopped off her horse, trying to get away from the swaying carousel, but her long dress made it hard to run.

"Come on!" She grabbed Adrien's hand. "It's not safe!"

"What?"

A giant hamster stepped on the carousel, crushing the metal scaffolding like paper. Its eyes glowed red, and its whiskers formed the shape of a butterfly.

"It's been akumatized!" cried Marinette. "We need to get out of here!" But she couldn't run, and there was nowhere safe to transform into Ladybug, and she couldn't transform in front of Adrien! The blaring noise grew louder--

"I thought we were supposed to hang out," said Adrien. "I guess if you don't want to..."

"I do! I mean I don't! I mean - giant akumatized hamster?!" She looked for her purse, but it wasn't there. Had she lost her purse? Where did she put it down? She couldn't lose her purse! "Tikki!"

"I'm late for my fencing lesson," said Adrien apologetically, while Marinette crawled under a screeching metal horse to look for her purse. "I'll text you the invite to Kagami's and my wedding!"

" _What_?!"

"Can you give Hawk Moth a ride? We can't fit any more people in!" He ran to his car, climbing next to Chloe and Lila in the back seat. His driver closed the door.

"No!" shouted Marinette. "Wait! Oh, no no no, this is just a bad dream, this can't be happening." She pinched herself. "This isn't happening, this isn't -- _aah_!" 

She rolled out of bed and landed on the floor with an _oomph_. The phone alarm beeped and vibrated beside her head, until she managed to turn it off. She could not, however, bring herself to sit up just yet, so she lay there in a tangle of blankets, while a familiar flutter zoomed about her ears. 

"Bad dream?" asked Tikki.

Marinette groaned and pulled the blanket over her head.

"You're gonna be late for school!" The blanket didn't quite muffle the urgency in Tikki's voice. "And remember, you still have to finish decorating your mask for the Spring Howl Festival!"

 _Aaaargh_!

Marinette sprang up from under the blanket. "I forgot!" She ran to her desk, picking up a delicate face-mask, with overlapping strips of fabric in shades of cream and coral and light gold. After glancing at it a long moment, she sighed. "I just can't figure out what's missing."

When she'd picked the colors and fabrics, she'd thought it a great idea, but now that she saw the finished product she had doubts.

"Maybe I should've just gone with a ladybug mask. Then I'd know for sure it represents me..."

"Is wearing a ladybug mask really the best way to keep your identity a secret?" Tikki landed on the messy desk, between two discarded fabric strips and a bottle of glitter. "The mask you made is beautiful, Marinette! You'll win the creators' contest for sure!"

Marinette touched the softly gleaming swaths around the eyes. "But the masks are supposed to reflect something about ourselves. I just made this one because I wanted to try something different! When everyone has to say how our mask represent us, I'll be the only one without a good reason!"

"I'm sure you'll think of something," said Tikki encouragingly. Then, she flitted up in the air again. "But later! You don't have that much time before school starts!" 

Marinette ran about the room, stuffing things into her schoolbag. "And I totally promised I'd help everyone with the finishing touches on their masks, too - where's my sewing kit? And I'm supposed to go see Luka's band rehearse at the park..." She groaned again. "This festival's already going wrong, and it hasn't even started yet."

"It'll be great," Tikki chimed. "You'll see! Just take it one thing at a time!"

"I don't think I have _time_ to take it one thing at a time..." Marinette stuffed the mostly-finished festival mask into her bag, and sighed. "I thought with Hawk Moth quiet these last few weeks, I'd finally have some time to relax and just be Marinette. But being Marinette is just as complicated as being Ladybug!"

Tikki landed on her shoulder with a sympathetic chirp. "You can do anything you put your mind up to," she said, and Marinette sighed again.

"I'm definitely not giving Hawk Moth a ride to Adrien's wedding," she grumbled. "And we better keep an eye out for giant hamsters!"

And, grabbing her schoolbag, she rushed downstairs for breakfast, a confused Tikki scrambling to hide in her purse on the way.

* * *

Adrien absently poked his butter knife at a stray glob of strawberry jam on his plate, as the dining room clock chimed 8:30. Nathalie manifested - as he knew she would - before the chime had ended. 

"The car is ready." It was her third time saying so that morning. Adrien glanced to the door to the hallway.

"Is Father ever going to eat again?"

"He's taking a working breakfast," said Nathalie, as she had every day for the last...whatever. Adrien couldn't remember the last time his father had showed up for a meal.

"I was hoping to get his thoughts on my Spring Howl mask. Design isn't exactly my thing..." He craned his neck again, glancing hopefully toward his father's atelier. "You know what, I'll just quickly run over and show it to him-"

Nathalie took a step sideways, blocking his path. "You shouldn't be late for school."

"But-!"

She motioned silently to the door, where his bodyguard waited. Adrien's shoulders slumped.

"I've barely seen Father in weeks. Did I do something? Am I being punished for something?" That wasn't really Father's style - usually when Adrien was grounded, he was informed of it and had the calendar entry to show it - but lately, Father had been...unpredictable. "I just don't understand. Why is he avoiding me?"

"He's not." Nathalie cleared her throat. "He's working hard to finish the fall collection designs before the early production deadline. I'm sure he'll be done soon - "

"That's what you said last week."

Nathalie bit her lips. Her discomfort made Adrien feel bad - he understood his father's decisions weren't really up to her, and when he pushed back he was just making her job harder...but he couldn't exactly take the protests to his father, when he wasn't even allowed to see the man!

"I'm sorry." He sighed. "It's just...All my friends' parents work, but...they're different. I've seen Kagami's mom more than I've seen Father, this month! She'd invited me for dinner twice - and Marinette's dad showed up with croissants when we had to spend lunch hour at school, last week, and Nino's mom volunteered to drive us to that concert - " 

"Your father has a more demanding job than your classmates' parents, Adrien. You know how hard he works -"

"But Chloe's dad will drop everything and show up fifty times a day if she calls him, and he's the mayor."

Nathalie's mouth flattened. "I would hesitate to name Mayor Bourgeois an example of good parenting."

"At least Chloe knows he'll be there for her," muttered Adrien. His cheeks began to heat under Nathalie's long look. "Fine. Sorry. I just... I guess I'll see Father when he's done with the fall collection." He picked up his schoolbag from the chair. "Will you tell him I'll be at the festival this afternoon?" 

She checked her tablet. "Your bodyguard is scheduled to pick you up after school and drive you to the Champ de Mars."

"I can go with my friends."

Nathalie sighed, giving him a conflicted look. Adrien felt bad again. It really wasn't her fault that Father was being...Father.

"Please? We're all going to get ready together, anyway. Kagami's meeting me at the school, and Marinette's gonna help everyone finish our masks in time for the schools' parade. We're all just gonna walk over as a group - and the principal's gonna be there for the schools' parade, anyway. Please...?" 

Nathalie lowered her tablet, heaving another long sigh. She cleared her throat, coughed a couple of times, and nodded. 

"I'll arrange for your bodyguard to meet you at the school parade. Please keep your phone on you, so you can tell him where you are." Her eyes narrowed in a pointed warning. "Keep the ring volume turned up, please. Your father will worry if you're in those festival crowds unprotected and out of reach."

Adrien gave her a pointed look back. "Yeah, I'm sure he worries heaps. But thank you!" he hurried to amend, beaming up at her, before she could change her mind. "Oh, and Kagami's mom's tea sounds like it's helping. Right?"

Nathalie gave him a blank look. "What?"

"That herb tea, for your cough. You sound way better."

"Oh." Nathalie's eyes darted to right a little furtively, before landing on him again. "Right. Yes. It's...helpful. Thank you."

She sounded uncomfortable again, but Adrien was used to it. Nathalie didn't like him treating her with too much familiarity. When he'd first brought her the little bag of dried herbs a few weeks back, and mentioned he'd brought up her illness during dinner at Kagami's, she'd been so mortified she'd avoided him for days. He'd worried she'd quit. 

But obviously she hadn't, and now she coughed a lot less and didn't look half-dead, so he figured, the awkwardness was worth it.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," he told her honestly. "I was...worried."

Nathalie opened her mouth and managed a strangled "Ah." Then she took several steps back. "Thank you. That's unnecessary. I'm fine."

He gave her a thumbs-up. "I'll tell Kagami's mom her tea worked," he said, feeling a little guilty because now he was just prodding her on purpose. He just didn't get why it was such a big deal that he cared if she was sick. It was normal to care about people, right?

"All the adults in my life are weird," he muttered to Plagg on the way to the car. Inside his bag, the kwami yawned his assent and demanded some Camembert.

Adrien spent the ride to school examining the clumsy eye-mask he'd created, after an afternoon of failed attempts and lots of laughter with Nino. Design really wasn't their thing. At least Nino could say he'd incorporated something personal about himself into the mask - he'd glued two tiny speakers on, to which he could play music from his phone. Adrien had made his by cutting up an old _Gabriel_ silk scarf he'd once modeled. He figured that was enough to pass the 'personal meaning' requirement. 

But he didn't truly feel the sea-green mask reflected anything deep about him. The problem was, he wasn't so sure there was anything deep _to_ reflect.

They pulled up by his school, to the by-now-usual sight of Chloe waving excitedly from the front steps. He'd barely set foot out of the car when she grabbed his arm, dragging him along. " _Adrikins_. Wait 'til you see my mask idea. And I had one made for you, too, to match - you're welcome! Just wait..."

His first Spring Howl as part of a real school was promising to be...interesting, at least. 

* * *

Nathalie found her employer in the garden, collecting butterflies, a sight simultaneously reassuring and worrisome. At least he'd left his workbench, and the endless poring over the former Miraculous guardian's tablet. But he'd barely spoken to her for days, and he'd certainly not mentioned any upcoming plans, yet here he was obviously ready for some action. Nathalie was not used to being out of the loop - and she didn't care for it. 

He looked up at her approach, but said nothing. She stopped a few feet away, hugging her tablet.

"Adrien is going to be at the Spring Howl festival this afternoon. I've given him permission to walk over with Kagami and his school friends, and the bodyguard will meet them there."

"I don't like that. Too many people. Too much...uncertainty." He gave her a pointed look as he said that, and mixed anxiety and excitement twisted Nathalie's stomach. _Finally_ , she thought. Inactivity wore her down; knowing they'd try again to finish Gabriel's mission reassured her.

Success felt so close. With the repaired peacock miraculous, they couldn't fail...

But Gabriel's next words doured her mood, somewhat.

"I want Adrien back at the house right after school."

"Sir, he's looking forward to this festival - "

"There'll be other festivals. No - don't argue with me again, Nathalie. I want my son away from the crowds today." He smiled, staring at one of the butterflies fluttering over his hand. "If it all goes well, I should have the miraculouses by tonight. And then Adrien will have all the friends and celebrations he wants."

He glanced behind him, to where Emilie rested, and Nathalie couldn't help following his gaze. With a sigh, she nodded silently.

"I'll make sure Adrien is back home before the festival starts." She met his eyes again. "When will you need me-" 

"No." Gabriel frowned. "Not yet."

She pressed her lips together. "With Mayura's help-"

"Not until I'm convinced the damage from the broken miraculous won't get any worse. No, Nathalie." He stood, waving away her protest. "I'm still not convinced you're fully recovered from last time. I won't have you hurt further, unnecessarily."

 _Unnecessarily_. An interesting word choice - and accurate. "I'm fine," she said. "I can help you." 

But Gabriel, drawing himself to his full height, shook his head and smiled coldly. "Tonight, Hawk Moth will need no help to succeed. The Spring Howl will be a festival to remember."


	2. POVs: Hélène, Marinette, Hawk Moth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in which we introduce this completely innocent civilian for no reason whatsoever...;)  
> And Marinette and Adrien are having some Feelings. Mostly of the uncertain sort.  
> Alas, no one gets the hugs they need.

Hélène Duval had transferred to Lycée Gabriel-Monet to join its renowned fine arts track, specifically the jewelry design after-school program rumored to be the best in the city. Even though the _lycée_ was far from her neighborhood and she had to take two buses to it each morning, and she'd had to leave behind all the friends she'd gone through eight years of school with, she knew the chance was too good to pass up. She'd been designing accessories since kindergarten, moving gradually from pebbles and plastic, to threads and beads, to simple metals, to rarer materials like titanium and stone and semi-precious gems - and she wished, above all else, to one day have her own jewelry company. Lycée Gabriel-Monet could help her achieve that.

Of course, it hadn't been _all_ she'd hoped for. For one, she hadn't quite managed to fit in - though no one was outright mean, they seemed to speak a different language, full of references she didn't get, and she always felt like their words had a second meaning she was missing. But knowing she could spend time with her old friends after school, she didn't let that get her down.

A trickier problem was the students in the fine crafts program came from wealthier families, and most sold their accessories to their and their parents' friends at absurd prices. Hélène's little Etsy store had a small, reliable following, but she couldn't advertise her creations in _Vogue_ or show them off at Milan fashion show dinners, or post pictures of herself wearing them in exclusive Thailand resorts or while hiking volcanos in Bora Bora. Though her teachers praised her, part of the requirement for staying in the jewelry design program involved branding and marketing, on which front Hélène fell woefully short.

But she didn't give up hope. When she'd learned that the city was celebrating the Spring Howl festival as part of their series of historic traditions that year, she'd known this was her chance. The schools' parade and the mask contest would be televised and broadcast to everyone in the city. The winning creators would have their work seen by millions of people.

This was how her work would finally get the attention she needed, so she could fulfill her dream.

* * *

"That's a weird dream, girl." Alya grinned, handing Marinette the fabric glue. "Hold this a second. So, Luka was riding a blue horse, and Adrien was riding a black horse, hm? That's symbolic. I don't know exactly what it's symbolic _of_ , but it's something, alright. Sounds like someone's not so over their crush as she says she is..."

Marinette covered her face with her palms-then quickly realized she was holding a glue stick, and lowered one hand. "I don't have time for symbolic dreams! And anyway, it was just a dream. It's probably 'cause I ate too much of those candied cherries before bed. Yes, that's it- it's not symbolism, it was indigestion!"

Alya laughed. "Uh-huh." She blew the last pieces of dust and glitter off her black-and-white mask, and set it carefully back on their little work desk in the study room. "You gotta make up your mind. Or else you're gonna have a lot more mornings where you fall out of bed. Glue?"

Marinette handed over the stick, watching as Alya finished the last addition to her mask: a small camera, that would live-stream her view of the parade. Marinette had suggested that, to complete Alya's idea of having the top of her mask designed as a QR code linking to her blog. Max and Nino had provided the technical expertise. Now, Marinette envied the end-product: not only did the mask look beautiful, shiny black-and-white and sleek, but she couldn't think of a better personal touch to reflect Alya's interests and dreams.

If only she could find something as inspired for herself. But they'd spent all morning brainstorming, and now it was lunch hour and she still had no satisfactory answer. They were supposed to start gathering for the schools' parade in an hour! If she didn't come up with something fast, she'd have no time left to tweak her mask design.

"You think this'll stay in place?" Alya held up her mask with the attached mini-cam, and Marinette studied it for a moment, before deciding to get her sewing kit and do a little more tweaking to make sure the camera stayed in place. Alya gave her a thumbs-up."Thanks! So," she lowered her voice as more people entered the study room, "are you gonna make your mask match anyone's?"

Marinette face-palmed again. "I don't knoooow." She made a strangled noise as Adrien followed the others in; he glanced around the room, then waved as he saw her, and headed straight for the desk she and Alya used to work on their masks.

"Oh, no," muttered Marinette. "What do I do what do I do what-"

Alya put a hand around her shoulders. "Relax- he's probably just coming to ask for help with his mask. You did offer to help anyone who needed it, remember?"

" _Eeeeee_ ," Marinette squealed under her breath, backing up until her hip hit the desk and knocked down half the things on it. "Oh, no!"

"Oops." Adrien bent down to retrieve the glue stick and a pair of scissors, handing them back to her. "Do you think you have time to take a look at my mask, Marinette? I'm not entering the creators' contest or anything," he smiled and gave her an uncertain shrug, "but...I'm just not sure it's - you know. Looking right. You've got a good eye for these things...would you mind?"

"No!" blurted Marinette. "I mean - yes, of course. Sure! No problem!"

"Thanks." Adrien smiled again, causing her stomach to do a little backflip. It took her a long moment to realize he was holding his mask out to her - then she scrambled to grab it, elbowing Alya in the ribs.

"SORRY."

Alya shook her head and rolled her eyes, then pulled Nino over to the other side of the table so they could affix little matching wifi and musical note stickers to their masks. That part wasn't technically in the parade rules, but everyone had decided couples could do it.

"This is...really pretty." Marinette touched the glossy, sea-green fabric of Adrien's mask. "Hm. Isn't this from the scarf you modelled for _Gabriel's_ Ice Magic collection three years ago?"

"Wow." Adrien's eyes widened. "That's...really impressive that you remember that. I didn't think anyone would recognize it." He smiled, "Guess you've got a good memory for fashion, right? The expert eye, and all that."

"Right! Yes, that's why. Good memory for fashion." Marinette tried not to think of the fourteen magazine cutouts she'd collected from that particular campaign of his. "Err - so, what can I do for you? I mean, for your magic - mask!" She cleared her throat. "What did you need help with?"

He grimaced, looking uncertain. "Well...I'm not sure. Uhm, I guess it's the 'personal touch' bit. Reflecting our inner selves and that. Uhm...I'm not sure I have that much to reflect?" He sighed, and Marinette had to keep her jaw from dropping.

"Are you kidding? You have _tons_ of things! Your - err, modeling career," (she'd nearly said 'beauty', which would've probably come across a little...wrong? Though personally, Marinette would not have objected if he'd chosen a mask made entirely out of pictures of himself), "your personal brand, all the ads you did, your TV appearances..."

"Sure, but...that's not really my inner self, right? I mean, I can't exactly put my modeling ads on the mask - can you imagine? Just... pictures of my face, all over it?"

Marinette giggled awkwardly. "Sure...I mean, no, of course not. That would be..." _So pretty_. "Not at all appropriate...?"

Adrien pulled a small envelope from his backpack. "Kagami gave me these. I was thinking maybe incorporating them, somehow. She's going for the whole sword motif with her mask, because of her fencing. And I like fencing, and..."

And he and Kagami were together. So they would have matching masks.

The giddiness in Marinette's stomach settled abruptly into something grimmer and more leaden.

"Right." She opened the envelope to see two delicate, iron-on embroidered patches, each shaped like an épée. "These look great. They'll go well with your mask. Uhm...you can't iron them onto the silk, that'll damage the fabric, but I think we can use a little-"

" _There you are_!"

Chloe's voice bounced off the study room walls. A second later, she'd appeared at Adrien's side, giving Marinette the usual warning stink eye.

"I've been looking all over for you, Adrien! You didn't tell me if you liked the mask I made you. What's this?" She snatched the green silk mask from the desk, holding it between two thumbs like a smelly sock. "That can't be your mask. Did you ask Dupain-Cheng to make this? You know the girl's got _no_ style! This utterly without panache!"

"I like it," said Marinette, but Chloe just waved a dismissive hand.

"Please. _Sabrina_!" She snapped her fingers, and Sabrina dutifully produced a wooden case, which she opened to display two masks sitting on a velvet bed. "Now _these_ are festival winners. I had them made special."

"You're kidding," said Alya from behind, sound halfway between shocked and amused. 

Chloe's masks were identical save for their color - one was bright glittery gold, the other a sort of glinting charcoal - and they consisted of her name, _CHLOE_ , written in fancy curly script, with the eye-holes cleverly worked into the curves of the letters.

"Very...subtle," said Alya. "Are those diamonds at the edges?"

" _Obviously_ ," said Chloe. "And no one asked you - what's your mask, a paper bag from your mom's kitchen? _Hmph_!" She looped an arm through Adrien's. "Yours is the black one, of course - see, I even had the jeweler use your favorite stone, emerald! Well - it's my favorite stone for you, anyway. It'd just look so good, don't you think? Try it on! Go ahead!"

"Err..." Adrien gave her an uncomfortable smile, backing up a step. "I would, but you know we're supposed to make our own masks. I uh, wouldn't want to break the rules. I made this," he held up the aquamarine silk like a shield, with both hands. "I know it's not nearly as nice, but I guess I gotta wear the one I made..."

"Nonsense! I'll call my daddy right now the change the rules!"

"Why would Adrien want to wear a mask that says CHLOE?" asked Alya. "Don't you think Kagami might take issue with that? You know, since they're dating, and all?" 

Chloe's expression turned to outrage. "What! That's fake! Utter, fake nonsense! Tell her, Adrien!"

"Uhm...oh, look at that, Nathalie's calling me! Thank god - I mean, better take it, it's probably important! Sorry about that." And he jogged backwards out of the study room, leaving Chloe to glower at Alya, Marinette and Nino. 

"You should be arrested for spreading fake news," Chloe told Alya. "I'm gonna tell Daddy to have your ridiculous blog banned!"

"Yeah, good luck with that. Come on." Alya swept the remaining supplies off the table and into her schoolbag, and grabbed Marinette's elbow. "I think we'd better work on your mask somewhere else. I'm getting a sunburn from all those diamonds."

But Marinette had lost her motivation entirely.

"Adrien and Kagami are wearing matching masks," she moaned into Alya's shoulder, once Nino had gone off to find Adrien. "Of course they are. That's fine. They're my friends, and I'm happy for them."

Alya gave her a long look. "Yup, that's the face of a happy friend." She sighed, "I thought you liked Luka."

"I do!"

"Then what are you doing, girl? You can't date one boy and moon over another!"

"I'm not! And I'm not mooning! But - and we're not _dating!_ " Marinette blushed. "It's just...talking. And we had smoothies last week. And we went to the park. And I do like it! Luka's really nice, and funny, and his music is great. It's just..."

"He's not Adrien," murmured Alya, and Marinette leaned her head into the wall of the deserted hallway, and sighed her agreement.

"He's not Adrien."

Which shouldn't have been a problem, because Adrien was dating Kagami, and he seemed pretty happy about it, and Marinette _liked_ Kagami, and she wanted them both to be happy. 

Except apparently her brain and her heart were having some communication issues.

"Come on." Alya tugged her gently toward an empty classroom. "Let's figure out what you need to finish on your mask. I bet it'll look so great, you'll find two more boyfriends by the end of the day!"

"I don't have two boyfriends!" squeaked Marinette. "I don't even... I don't know. I don't want two boyfriends, definitely."

"I don't think you know _what_ you want," Alya remarked, with sympathy. "That's alright. You'll figure it out. You're the cleverest lady I know - and remember, I know Ladybug."

Marinette banged her head against the wall again. She thought she heard a sympathetic chirp from her purse, too.

* * *

Hélène waited by the bus stop, excitement bubbling in her stomach. In an hour, she'd join her school's representatives and line up for the festival parade, and at the end of that, she'd enter the creators' contest - and win. She was sure of it. She'd seen some of the other masks, and no matter how many precious stones and fancy designer brands they came with, Hélène knew none of them compared to hers. She'd spent weeks making it - gathering materials from every piece of jewelry she'd ever made before, combining them painstakingly into a beautiful mosaic. Small, delicate pieces of pebbles and beads, of textile and metal and glass and shells and old pressed flowers, all arranged into an infinity shape, the jewelry-makers' oldest design. It was a work of art, she knew - and it stood out, colorful and elegant. Several reputed creators sat on the contest jury, and Hélène knew they'd recognize the effort and skill her mask took.

A few of her classmates climbed, giggling, into one of their parents' cars. As they drove past the bus stop, one of them waved at Hélène, and they all laughed. Hélène smiled back. She didn't think they liked her very much, but she didn't care, as long as they didn't make trouble for her at school. All she wanted was the best start for her jewelry design career.

She hopped on the bus to Champs de Mars, greeting the driver with a hopeful smile.

* * *

"So many buoyant spirits...so much rampant excitement and emotion." Hawk Moth tapped his cane, smiling as he let the rush of emotion from the city's inhabitants wash over him. "Spring Howl used to be a violent festival, for scaring off evil spirits in preparation for spring. Let's see how much of that tradition we can bring back..."

He held out his hand, and a butterfly rested his knuckles.

He didn't know, precisely, who would carry out his mission, that day. But with thousands of people poised to celebrate, and their boundaries and inhibitions lightened by the donning of masks and the general wild atmosphere of celebration...it was only a matter of time before someone's emotions would turn to the destructive side. Passions were certain to run high, and the battlefield was rife with potential.

Today could be the day - he felt it. At the festival of masks, Ladybug and Cat Noir's masks might finally fall - and he'd get their miraculouses at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like a cartoon supervillain, with that ominous ending  
> ...in my defense, Hawk Moth really is that extra.
> 
> I'm sorry for all the extraneous descriptions. I think I had too much fun designing masks for everyone. What mask would YOU make, for the festival ;) ? (which btw is totally a real thing! altho I kinda fiddled with its name and the timing. But we used to do this in my town. It was GREAT. Except also sometimes things caught on fire, so that was less great.)


End file.
